Hel­ga Reynis­dót­tir

Courage is Needed to Seize Opportunities

Helga Reynisdóttir, midwife and business owner, has decided in recent years to take the plunge and not fear the unknown. She has established two companies that provide education and services to women and their families during pregnancy and says she needed courage to take the leap.

In 2013, the word "ljósmóðir" (midwife) was voted the most beautiful word in the Icelandic language. There has long been a special aura around this profession and respect for this important women's occupation. In Iceland, no man has worked as a midwife for almost a hundred years, although male midwives were known here in earlier times. It's truly interesting to chat with Helga Reynisdóttir about her work in different fields, as she has combined the female-dominated world of her education with the business and entrepreneurial world that has often been associated with men's experiences.

Nothing Held Her Back

When the pandemic was at its peak, Helga was at home with a newborn baby on maternity leave. Although she very much wanted to start a company and offer childbirth education, she was initially hesitant to take the step. Her husband encouraged her enthusiastically and pushed her outside her comfort zone. Helga decided to take the plunge and studied the tax authority's laws and regulations about different types of business structures and companies. She says she felt dizzy when taking the first steps and worried that it would be too much for her. But she didn't let that stop her.

My Main Goal is to Empower Women

Helga always wanted to do more with her education and didn't see herself working exclusively in the hospital until retirement. She began her journey as a volunteer on social media for the Midwives Association and during that time found significant interest and resonance for the education she provided on their platforms. She quickly realized there was a market for accessible educational material for women and their families during pregnancy, and with encouragement, she decided to take the initiative and offer childbirth education and courses for expectant parents. Her goal is to encourage women to seek information and be informed about the process of pregnancy and childbirth with the aim of being active participants in the decision-making process.

Aiming Even Higher

Helga started her business career empty-handed and shaped everything from scratch. She had no capital and has built her business through hard work, courage, and perseverance. She began her journey by buying the cheapest computer available at Elko and learning how to set up a website with a payment gateway. Subsequently, she began offering expectant parents online childbirth courses at ljosmodirin.is, which are very popular with people all over the country. Soon after, she also established ljosa.is with her colleague Hildur Sólveig Ragnarsdóttir, where they offer ultrasounds during pregnancy, education, acupuncture, consultations, and pregnancy meetups. But Helga has big dreams about improving women's birth experiences more broadly and using the knowledge and experience related to pregnancy and childbirth in Iceland for good.

Iceland is exceptional when it comes to maternity services, with one of the lowest rates of infant and maternal mortality in the world. There is also a very low rate of interventions in childbirth here. According to Helga, childbirth has been medicalized in many parts of the world, which hasn't necessarily served women well. She explained to us that we can usually do two things without much intervention - be born and die - but clever businessmen saw an opportunity to bring births into hospitals to potentially profit.

It will be interesting to follow Helga and her important and excellent work in the coming years. When asked what advice she gives to women who have ideas about their own business or are carrying a business idea:

"My advice is to chase your dreams, don't hesitate, and seize opportunities when they present themselves. You need to be strong-willed and stand firmly for what you believe in and show courage."

We thank Helga sincerely for the conversation and look forward to following her as she improves the birth experience of women here in Iceland and beyond.